MIAMI (WSVN) - Days before restaurants are set to reopen in a number of cities in Miami-Dade County, business owners in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood expressed concerns about what the future may hold for them.
While the mandatory coronavirus shutdown only lasted a couple of months, local leaders said its crippling effects for many businesses both large and small make this period feel like a lifetime for business owners.
“Wynwood, like many parts of Miami and South Florida, is largely comprised of small businesses, so they were devastated by the last eight weeks,” said Albert Garcia, chairman of the Wynwood Business Improvement District.
Diana Gonzalez, who owns The Wynwood Shop, said saving her business would have been impossible if not for social media.
“We are relevant because of it, and we get a lot of response, and a lot of people share what we post as well in the community,” she said, “so we’re just happy that we have those tools to communicate with people of Miami.”
With more than 30% of Wynwood businesses being retail stores and restaurants, business owners like Chef Michael Lewis said reopening this area of South Florida is crucial.
“Obviously, everyone who’s been impacted, I think — hospitality, restaurants, in particular — has been hit very hard,” said Lewis, who co-founded Kyu Restaurant. “This neighborhood, specifically, it is definitely a neighborhood that is used to having a lot of people wandering around.”
Many believe that, with international tourism being Wynwood’s major lifeline to succeed, many businesses won’t bounce back until the second quarter of next year at the earliest.
“Some of our neighbors might not make it out of this, and it’s gut-wrenching,” said Lewis.
“It’s definitely going to impact us, as far as many tourists,” said Gonzalez.
Wynwood officials said they’re doing whatever it takes to get their neighborhood’s scene back to normal sooner rather than later.
“We are thinking of innovative ways to bring people back to the neighborhood, whether it’s our drive-in movie theaters, virtual street art tours,” said Garcia.
“No one has a crystal ball. No one’s going to know exactly when everyone is going to start feeling comfortable wandering around the neighborhood, really feeling comfortable dining,” said Lewis, “but I think Wynwood will bounce back faster than a lot of other neighborhoods will.”
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